Forging New Freedoms: Nativism, Education, and the Constitution, 1917-1927

Several collections of documents were invaluable. The Theodore Graebner Papers at the Concordia Historical Institute in Clayton, Missouri, provide rich and abundant insights into the suppression o German language and culture during the First World War, the enactment of legal restrictions on the use of foreign languages after the war, and the judicial challenges to the language laws. Graebner acted as a sort of clearing- house for information about the travails of the German-American Lutheran communities throughout the United States. As editor of the Lutheran Witness and a prominent scholar, he naturally conducted a far-flung correspondence, and he also voluntarily collected information for the Bureau of Investigation about the harassment of German Americans. Previously neglected in studies of the language disputes, the Graebner correspondence is extensive and includes frank and confidential discussions about such controversial subjects as the loyalty of German Americans, the condition of parochial schools, and the practical difficulties of asserting constitutional rights in the face of mob violence and official coercion. The Graebner Papers also provide a unique source of legislative history about the enactment of statutes that restricted the use of foreign languages, since many correspondents informed Graebner about the details of the legislative processes in various states. The Concordia Historical Institute also holds a small and largely insignificant collection of the papers of Pastor C. F. Brommer.

The files of the United States Catholic Conference at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., provide important insights into the Roman Catholic challenge to Oregon's compulsory public education law. In particular, the correspondence of National Catholic Welfare Conference officials and attorneys explores the scope and contour of Catholic fears about the menace to parochial education and offers a detailed explanation of the church's litigation strategy. These collections be

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